Cape Town - Police were on Wednesday morning involved in a tense stand-off at the home of a “senior” Athlone man who is facing an attempted murder charge after allegedly shooting a 27-year-old constable in the face.
Over three dozen police, law enforcement, metro police and fire department personnel were on the scene in Albermarle Road, Hazendal, with hostage negotiators having spent more than four hours trying to convince the man to hand himself over to police.
As at midnight, a large crowd was still on the scene, behind a police cordon at the suburban home alongside the railway line near the Athlone central business district.
“We have a situation here that has to be defused. Members of the police's law enforcement tactical response team had arrived at the man's home at 6.30pm following complaints that one of the man's dogs had allegedly attacked a tenant on the property. When the police officers arrived on the scene to remove one of the dogs, they were chased and attacked by the dogs. At the same time a man opened fire from inside the house. A 27-year-old constable was shot in the face and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. He is in a stable condition and a case of attempted murder has been opened," said police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk.
The man's neighbours said he "loved his dogs".
"You attack his dogs, you attack him," said one neighbour.
Another neighbour, who did not wish to be identified, but who had known the man for many years, described him as "passive, quiet, well-mannered and exceptionally bright".